Employee Spotlight - Officer Irene McCorry

Published on November 01, 2021

Ofc. Irene McCorry joined the Maricopa Police Department in Sept. 2007 and she currently serves as a senior officer in our patrol division and is one of our defensive tactics instructors.  When Irene was five, she and her family moved from California to Arizona.  Irene grew up in the Phoenix area, where she was involved as a kid in dance, basketball, and volleyball. 

Prior to getting into law enforcement, Irene worked at various establishments including Fry’s, Payless Shoes, Mervyn’s and even at Pete’s Fish and Chips!  Irene says she loved the fun environment at Pete’s because it was a family-owned business, where kids would come and hang-out at after the school football games. 

During high school, Irene was interested in Law Enforcement and became an explorer for the AZ Dept. of Public Safety.  The police explorer program is an internship for youth and young adults to learn about law enforcement and the criminal justice system.  As an explorer, Irene worked undercover in various bars in the Phoenix area as an under-aged patron, who would attempt to buy alcohol from the bars.  Bar owners, who allowed these illegal sales, were quickly met by arrest officers, who were standing by. 

After high school, Irene joined the AZ Dept. of Corrections where she worked in the juvenile and adult divisions.  Yet, after spending about 10-years in the corrections system, she realized she wanted more and so she pursued a career in law enforcement.   Irene says it was the teamwork, the camaraderie, and the good things that officers were doing for their communities that drew her toward this profession. 

Hobbies / Other Interests:

• Tennis.
• Road cycling / Mountain biking.
• Hiking.
• Traveling.
• Exploring Arizona.
• Family time.

   

Favorites: 

• Sports team: Phoenix Suns.
• Restaurants: Salt Seller in Scottsdale and Z’Tejas in Ahwatukee.
• Ice cream: Thrifty’s chocolate chip.
• Musical artists: Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Billy Joel, Elton John, Mariah Carey.
• Movies: Green Mile, Forest Gump.

Something her co-workers don’t know about her:  

Irene has a world-famous uncle!  Poncho Sanchez (uncle Poncho) is a Grammy award-winning Latin jazz artist, who has played with Stevie Wonder, James Brown, and also played for former U.S. Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama.  Irene said she did not get any of her uncle’s musical genes, so she’s not musically inclined, but she is a self-proclaimed expert in 1980’s hit music trivia! 

Proudest accomplishment:

As an MPD officer, one day Irene encountered a homeless woman, who was living behind a dumpster.  The woman was in possession of illegal drugs and had warrants for her arrest.  While speaking with the woman, Irene learned that the woman was pregnant.  The woman was obviously going through a very difficult time, so Irene was able to give her some helpful counseling and guidance. 

The woman’s encounter that day with Irene was a turning point in the woman’s life.  As a result, the woman was able to stop her drug addiction.  Since then, the woman had a healthy baby boy and became a drug counselor at a drug rehabilitation center.  The woman later returned to thank Irene.  This is one of Irene’s proudest accomplishments! 

Career Highlight:

During one of her duty shifts, Irene responded to a woman who shot herself in her mouth, in a suicide attempt.  When Irene arrived on scene, the woman was still alive.  Thankfully, the bullet missed the woman’s brain and exited out of the woman’s mouth.  Irene gloved up and quickly sprung into action!  Irene began talking to the woman, motivating her to not give up, while pulling teeth and pieces of jawbone out of the woman’s mouth, as they waited for paramedics to arrive.  The woman survived and later contacted Irene to thank her for saving her life.   

Favorite part of the job:

Irene’s favorite part of her job is building relationships with our community.  Irene enjoys knowing so many people in our community by name and she enjoys being able to help the people in the community where she lives. 

Least favorite part of the job:

Death notifications – Being there on the worst day of someone’s life.  On one occasion, Irene delivered a death notification to a woman, who’s husband had just died from a heart attack.  But Irene didn’t stop at the notification stage.  She followed-up with the woman and helped her pick up the pieces from this tragedy.  As time went on, Irene and the woman ended up becoming friends and would meet now and then for lunches and dinners.  Irene even helped the woman when she had to move from her house.  Way to flip the script, Irene!  You truly represent Maricopa’s finest.   

Worst job ever:

Before her career in law enforcement, Irene took a job selling lightbulbs.  Irene worked out of a call-center and called people to see if they would buy the company’s lightbulbs.  After about three hours, Irene realized this type of work was not for her and she respectfully resigned. 

Definition of success:

Irene’s definition of success is being surrounded by people you love. 

Role model:

One of Irene’s grandmothers, Grandma Lucy, was born in 1900 and lived to be 102 years old.  Grandma Lucy was full of wisdom and insight on life.  Grandma Lucy was a very respectable, independent, and self-sustaining woman who inspired Irene to be the same. 

Way to go, Irene!  Thanks for helping us to always make every contact excellent! 

Well, that concludes this edition of the MPD Employee Spotlight.  Stay tuned for the next edition, coming soon!